Chairman Rogers Applauds House Approval of Final Fiscal Year 2012 Appropriations LegislationBills cut spending while providing for vital government programs, national security, and disaster aid

Washington, Dec 16 -

House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers today praised the passage of the Conference Report on the Consolidated Appropriations Act of Fiscal Year 2012 (House Report 112-331) – the final funding legislation of the year. The report passed on a vote of 296-121.

The passage of this bill marks the second year in a row that Congress has cut discretionary spending – the first time this has occurred in modern history. Once the legislation has been passed by the Senate and signed by the president, the government will have saved nearly $31 billion in total discretionary spending compared to last year’s level and $95 billion compared to FY 2010 – the last year Democrats controlled Congress.

“The Appropriations Committee has been successful in making real and meaningful cuts in government spending. For two years in a row, we have shown our commitment to the American people to change spending habits in Washington to help get our budgets back into balance,” Chairman Rogers said.

“After weeks of tough negotiations with our Senate counterparts – and several tenuous days this past week – we were able to complete a bipartisan, bicameral compromise that rolls back federal budgets, makes smart investments in programs people rely on, and implements policy changes that will bolster American business and our economy. As with any compromise, this bill isn’t perfect, but it represents the kind of responsible governing that will help move our country forward,” Chairman Rogers continued.

In addition to the conference report, the House also passed a disaster relief funding bill (H.R. 3672), which provides $8.1 billion in recovery aid and assistance for communities and business affected by recent natural disasters, and a bill that institutes an offset to that disaster funding by trimming 1.83% from all base discretionary spending in the bill, except for Department of Defense, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs.